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Darth Vader
Darth Vader (also known as Anakin Skywalker) is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in all three original Star Wars trilogy films alongside his master, and as the protagonist in the prequel trilogy as Anakin. He is one of the most popular antagonists featured among the Disney Villains that did not originate from Disney and has since become a icon of "fallen heroes". He remains an antagonist until the events of Return of the Jedi, when he sacrifices his life to save his son Luke Skywalker from his master Darth Sidious, who was really the true traitor and enemy of the Galactic Republic that Mace Windu warned him of in the Clone Wars and fulfilling the Prophecy as the Chosen One; becoming a protagonist once again. Background Personality After finally embracing the Dark side of the Force, Vader's personality changed completely. He was now terrifying and driven by rage, though after his defeat on Mustafar by Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was no longer as arrogant and overconfident as he previously was. Although he eventually regained confidence in himself, it was never to the point of being outwardly overconfident or arrogant. Unlike most members of the Sith Order, Vader was capable of acknowledging his mistakes and learning from them as well, due to the events of Mustafar; he was emotionally traumatized by the experience. Vader was very calm, level-headed and patient, as he rarely lost his temper and usually had good control over his emotions, something he was not able to do in his youth. He had an extremely low tolerance for failure and any form of betrayal, and he did not get along well with naval officers in the Imperial military. He had little to no tolerance for incompetence or for those who disrespected him, nearly choking Admiral Conan Antonio Motti to death when he disrespected Vader and challenged his powers of the Force. Vader telekinetically strangled both Admiral Kendal Ozzel and Captain Lorth Needa for their incompetence. Many higher-ranking officers despised the Sith Lord and his "sorcerer's ways" for no apparent reason. Unlike his grandson, Ben Solo, later known as Kylo Ren, Vader was not as prone to bouts of fiery rage. Despite his bad relationship with higher-ranking officers in the military, Vader did get along reasonably well with the storm troopers because of his front line leadership; one reason Vader was popular with the troops that served under him was his willingness to fight in the front line, and not expect of anyone anything he was not willing to do himself. As a general within the ranks of the Imperial Army of the Empire, Vader was renowned for his leadership skills and admired by clones, middle-ranking/low-ranking officers, Sith, and politicians alike. Because of his former status as a slave, Vader also had distress when the concept of slavery was brought up. Despite what his actions wrought upon both himself and the galaxy, Vader apparently believed he was doing what was good for the galaxy. Deep down, however, he felt enormous guilt and shame for his actions, whether he wanted to admit or not. So much that he developed a deep self-loathing, and even nearly committed suicide at one point. Upon his fateful reunion with his former apprentice and friend Ahsoka Tano, Vader expressed no desire to rekindle the bond he once shared with her and even told her that he had killed Anakin Skywalker, when he was in fact Anakin himself (though he may have been speaking ironically). Though he did offer to spare her if she told him where the other lost Jedi were hiding, he cruelly resolved to kill her when she refused and even when she found out he was indeed her former mentor and offered him compassion. Vader was cold, brutal, and ruthless towards his enemies, as he was perfectly willing to terrorize, torture and even murder them in cold-blood. He was seemingly unfailingly loyal to his master, Palpatine; the latter was the closest thing Vader had to a friend. However, in truth, he secretly hated his master for deceiving him and ruining his life, and secretly planned to overthrow him one day with his own apprentice. The only reason Vader continued to serve Palpatine after losing his wife was because the Emperor was all he had left; he was the only one that would accept him. All-in-all, Vader was only truly loyal to the people he still cared about, like his son Luke Skywalker, as he did everything possible to protect his son from Palpatine. Upon discovering the existence of his son, Luke Skywalker, Vader became emotionally conflicted and displayed a sense of compassion for his son, revealing that some hint of him still had love for his family. This attachment ultimately led to his redemption. Nearing the end of his life, Vader strongly believed he was irredeemable and there was no good left in him. However, when his son Luke was being tortured by Palpatine, he finally broke away from the dark side of the force, becoming the good person he once was, and sacrificed himself to save his son from Palpatine. Redeemed by Luke's love, Anakin made peace with his son before became one with the Force and was reunited with his loved ones. Powers and Abilities Powers *'The Force:' As the Chosen One, Vader was immensely powerful and had an amazingly strong connection to the Force, stronger than any Force user ever in existence. He also possessed the potential to become the most powerful Force user in the history of the galaxy; according to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader's Force potential surpassed that of even Yoda. Vader's Force potential is rivaled only by his son, Luke Skywalker. However, after being burned alive on Mustafar and forced to become a cyborg, he never reached his full potential, as the physical and emotional trauma caused by his transformation greatly limited his ability to access and control the Force. Despite this, Vader still became one of the most powerful Force users in the history of the galaxy. **'Telekinesis:' Vader was a master of Telekinesis, which he used either as offensive or defense. **'Force choke:' Vader prominently used Telekinesis to strangle others without touching them, which he often used to weaken or execute either his enemies or even his subordinates for perceived incompetence. **'Mind Trick:' Vader could use Mind Tricks to control the minds of other sentient beings, however, it did not work on individuals who have very strong wills. **'Mind probe:' Vader utilized mind probe to sift through the thoughts of a sentient being. **'Force Jump:' Vader utilized Force Jump, to jump or leap at great distances. He rarely used, however, **'Force speed:' Vader utilized Force speed, to move at greater speeds than normally possible. **'Force valor:' Vader utilized Force valor to increased his accuracy and speed or the accuracy and speed of his allies. **'Force vision:' Vader utilized Force vision, to have visions of the past, the present and the future; however, like all force users, his visions were not always clear or sometimes had visions even when he was not utilizing this power at will. **'Force sense:' Vader utilized Force sense, to sense another sentient being's emotions, the future, ripples in the Force caused by momentous or traumatic events, or impending danger and the presence of the light side. **'Force rage:' Vader utilized Force rage to channel his anger to increase his speed, strength, ferocity and to overwhelmed his opponents. **'Tutaminis:' Vader utilized Tutaminis to dissipate concentrated energy such as blasterbolts or lightsaber blades by touching them. **'Force deflection:' Vader utilized Force deflection, to deflect incoming attacks with or without his lightsaber. **'Kinetite:' Vader utilized Kinetite, a electric like blast, to subdue his opponents. **'Force Destruction:' Vader utilized Force destruction to immobilize his opponents. **'Force barrier:' Vader utilized Force barrier, to created a barrier or wall of force energy around himself or his allies. *'Cyborg Strength:' As a cyborg, Vader was physically stronger then most other sentient beings, making him immune to the strength of others. He could effortlessly lift humans by the neck over his head, crush bones in his grip, and even throw people across rooms. Abilities *'Lightsaber Skills:' Vader was extremely skilled in lightsaber combat and an exceptionally formidable duelist. He also possessed the potential to become the greatest lightsaber duelist in the history of the galaxy. However, after being burned alive on Mustafar and forced to become a cyborg, he never reached his full potential, as his armored suit greatly limited his mobility. Despite this, Vader still became one of the greatest lightsaber duelists in the history of the galaxy. He specialized in using his skills, weight, endurance and sheer brute strength to overwhelm his opponents into confusion or exhaustion, such as his former mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, his former apprentice Ahsoka Tano, and his son Luke Skywalker. Vader also regained some of his old agility, and his blade work became brutally effective. **'Form I:' Vader was very skilled in Shii-Cho. **'Form II:' After becoming a cyborg, Vader studied Makashi and became very skilled at it. **'Form III:' After becoming a cyborg, Vader studied Soresu and became very skilled at it. **'Form IV:' Vader was extremely skilled in Ataru. **'Form V:' Vader was a master of Shien/Djem So, considered by many to be the most proficient practitioner of the form. After becoming a cyborg, he created a personal varient that included elements of all seven forms. **'Form VI:' Vader was highly skilled in Niman. **'Form VII:' After becoming a cyborg, Vader studied the Juyo varient of Form VII and became very skilled at it. **'Jar'Kai:' Thanks to his skills in Ataru and Niman, Vader was highly skilled in Jar'Kai. *'Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant:' Vader was highly skilled in unarmed combat. *'Master Pilot:' Even before his fall to the Dark side, Vader was praised as the most skilled star-pilot in the history of galaxy, a reputation he lived up to when he single-handedly almost destroyed Phoenix Squadron in a lone Tie Fighter, easily out-flying their entire fleet and forcing their command to abandon ship. Vader's only equal was his son, Luke Skywalker. *'Master Engineer:' Even before his fall to the Dark side, Vader was amazingly skilled in engineering. He was able to successfully construct his red bladed lightsaber in his first try. *'Genius-Level Intellect/Master Tactician/Leader:' Even before his fall to the Dark side, Vader was amazingly intelligent. His intelligence and wisdom rivaled that of even Yoda. As a Sith General, Vader was a highly skilled tactician and a very capable leader. *'Multilingual:' Vader was capable of fluently speaking Galactic Basic, Huttese, Bitt, and Sith tongue. Weapons and Equipment Lightsabers Vader's valued weapon and possession was his lightsaber, he had two of them during his transition to a Sith and one during the time before the Clone Wars. *'Jedi Lightsaber:' Though technically the second lightsaber he owned after the first was destroyed, Vader built this lightsaber and used it throughout the Clone Wars. He used this weapon through Revenge of the Sith, even after falling to the Dark Side and becoming a Sith Lord. He lost this weapon to Obi-Wan when he was heavily mutilated on Mustafar, leading to the latter keeping it for nineteen years after. Luke Skywalker was given this weapon after meeting Obi-Wan and used it while part of the Rebel Alliance. Luke had no proper training and was forced to improvise his attacks with it. He lost it in his duel with his father, causing it to fall down Cloud City's airshafts. It then resurfaced and ended up in the hands of Maz Kanata, Finn and then Rey, the two latters who both fought Kylo Ren with it. *'Sith Lightsaber:' Vader built this lightsaber some time after he became a cyborg. As was common to all Sith lightsabers, it was a a red bladed lightsaber. It would remain in his possession until his final duel against his son, Luke Skywalker and was presumably destroyed when the second Death Star was destroyed. Film Appearances ''Revenge of the Sith'' Anakin found out that Palpatine was Darth Sidious, but was led to believe the Jedi were traitors to the Republic. When Palpatine promised him a way to save his pregnant wife Padmé, Anakin turned to the Dark Side to become Sidious' new apprentice and was rechristened as Darth Vader. After slaughtering all the Jedi in the Jedi Temple, including the younglings, Vader was sent by Palpatine to the Mustafar System, where he eliminated Nute Gunray and the other Separatist Leaders. On Mustafar, Vader is confronted by Padme and his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. When they refuse to join him, he chokes Padme and engages Obi-Wan in a ferocious lightsaber duel. He ultimately loses the fight, as well his legs and left arm, and Obi-Wan remorsefully leaves him to burn to death beside a volcanic river. Though horribly burned and disfigured by the flames of Mustafar, Vader manages to keep himself alive with the Force; his unbreakable will and sheer hatred. Palpatine, now Emperor of the Galactic Empire, finds him and takes him back to Coruscant to be reconstructed with his iconic suit. When he is told that he had killed Padmé in his anger, Vader becomes consumed by his despair. In the film's epilogue, Vader is seen beside Sidious viewing the construction of the Death Star, setting up the events that follow to A New Hope. ''A New Hope'' When plans for the Empire's new weapon, the Death Star were stolen by Rebel spies, Vader was assigned to retrieve the plans. His ship and men captured a Rebel Tantive VI star ship where they captured Princess Leia Organa. When they could not find the plans aboard the ship, Vader assumed they were hidden in the escape pod that R2-D2 and C-3PO were in and sent a squadron of Troopers down to retrieve them while he returned to the Death Star. Vader tortured Leia to make her tell where the Rebels secret base was but she would not give in. When the Empire captured the Millennium Falcon, Vader ordered scanning crew to check every inch of the ship. Meanwhile, through the Force, he began to feel the presence of his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi aboard the station. After many years, he came face to face with Obi-Wan once again and engaged him in a second lightsaber duel, though this time he was determined to win. The duel carried them across the hangar where they could see Luke and friends boarding the Millennium Falcon. The battle ended when Obi-Wan deliberately dropped his defenses, allowing Vader to strike, ultimately leading to the Jedi Master's tragic fate. When the Rebels commenced their attack on the Death Star, Vader joined the fight with two Pilots beside him. He easily took out many of the fighters by himself and just when he was about to destroy Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca appeared out of nowhere and fired on the Imperials, sending Vader spiralling away. When the Rebels succeeded in destroying the Death Star, Vader managed to gain control of his ship and fled the scene. ''The Empire Strikes Back'' Three years later, Vader tracked the location of the Rebels' new secret base on the ice planet, Hoth. From space, aboard his Imperial Starfighter, he oversaw the Battle of Hoth, dispatching Imperial AT-AT and AT-ST walkers against Luke Skywalker and Rogue Squadron. Vader was later summoned by Emperor Palpatine via hologram, where Palpatine confirmed that Luke is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker, and thus planned to seduce him to the dark side of the Force, as well. At Cloud City, on the Planet Bespin, Vader arranged a trap for Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca, aided by bounty hunter Boba Fett, as well as Han's friend Lando Calrissian. Vader then began to arrange for Luke to be frozen in a carbonite chamber and delivered to the emperor, but chose to test it first on Han. Afterwards, he handed him over to Fett, who flew the frozen mercenary to Jabba's Palace on Tatooine, aboard his ship Slave I. Upon failing to freeze Luke, Vader then engaged Luke in a lightsaber duel, which ended when Vader severed the young Jedi's right hand and revealed to Luke that he is his father. He made a proposal for Luke to join him, where he would complete his son's training, and have him rule the galaxy alongside him, but Luke refused and narrowly escaped Cloud City. ''Return of the Jedi'' On the second Death Star, Vader awaited the arrival of Emperor Palpatine, who had decided to personally oversee the completion of the new space station. Through the Force, Vader anticipated that Luke, in his compassion for him, would ultimately surrender himself, and attempt to turn him back to the light side of the Force, determined to rekindle the spirit of his true self, Anakin Skywalker. Together, Vader and Luke met the Emperor in his throne room aboard the Death Star, where the Emperor started playing upon Luke's fear for his friends' safety. Intent on using Luke as a pawn to kill his own father, and thus take his place at Palpatine's side, he provokes Luke into engaging Vader in a fierce lightsaber duel. Vader assaulted Luke with Djem So, but Luke countered. When Vader probed his son's mind with the Force and found out that Leia was his daughter too, he threatened to corrupt her instead, which angered Luke enough for him to viciously attack Vader and brutally overpower him. But after cutting off his father's right hand and noticing mechanical wires underneath that match his own right hand, Luke threw aside his lightsaber and told the emperor that he would never turn to the dark side. Vader then watched as Palpatine viciously tortured Luke with fierce Force lightning attacks. Writhing in agony, Luke pleaded for his father to save him. Seeing that his son was dying, Anakin Skywalker was reborn and he turned on his master, who was really the true traitor and enemy of the Galactic Republic that Mace Windu warned him about in the Clone Wars, by picking him up and hurling him down a reactor shaft, thus fulfilling the ancient Jedi Prophecy of the 'Chosen One' and redeeming himself. In the process, however, he was mortally wounded by Palpatine's lightning, which damaged his life-support suit beyond repair. Luke dragged Anakin to the ramp of an Imperial Shuttle, where the former Dark Lord had Luke remove his helmet and mask, wanting to see him with his own eyes. Anakin told his son to leave him, though Luke did not want to. He then told Luke that he was right about him, and with his dying words, he asked for his son to tell his sister he was right. After a final smile, Anakin died. On Endor, Luke cremated his father's armor and during the Rebel Alliance's celebration, Luke saw Anakin's spirit appear beside fellow Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan. ''The Force Awakens In the the film, Vader has been long dead for approximately thirty years, his burnt helmet is in the possession of his grandson, Ben Solo, who has turned to the dark side like him and assumed the identity of Kylo Ren, who wants to "finish what he started". When Kylo has Rey hostage, Rey senses that Kylo he is afraid that he will never be as powerful as Vader. Television Appearance Star Wars Rebels Darth Vader appears in the Disney XD animated series ''Star Wars Rebels, once again voiced by James Earl Jones who originally provided his voice in the Original Trilogy and Revenge of the Sith. In the series, he tasks the Empire's Inquisitors to hunt down the remaining Jedi Knights who may have survived the Great Jedi Purge. Season One In the extended cut of Spark of Rebellion, Darth Vader makes a brief appearance during the opening of the film where he is briefing his deadly servant, The Grand Inquisitor, with new orders from the Emperor. Even though the Jedi have been wiped out, the Sith have foreseen a new threat: the Children of the Force. Under the command of his Master, the Emperor, Vader gave the Inquisitor the task to hunt down this new enemy and if they do not serve the Empire they should be eliminated along with any surviving Jedi who will attempt to train them. Season Two Following the rescue of Kanan Jarrus over Mustafar and the death of the Inquisitor, rumors of what had happened became known, riots and uprisings begun to occur on several worlds. Concerned at the rise in rebel activity, the Emperor sent Vader to Lothal with Grand Moff Tarkin to end the growing rebellion. thumb|250px|Vader duels against Kanan Jarrus. Following his arrival, Vader met with Agent Kallus and Minister Tua to discuss his plans on dealing with the Rebels. Vader then had Kallus escort the Minister to her shuttle, where she was killed and the incident was blamed on the Rebels. When the Rebels tried to steal a shuttle to make their escape, Vader and his stormtroopers surrounded them. Vader engaged the leader of the Rebels, Kanan Jarrus, and his apprentice, Ezra Bridger, in a lightsaber duel. He was easily able to overpower them and attempted to kill Ezra with his own lightsaber until Kanan intervened. Zeb and Sabine used thermal detonators to cause an AT-DP to fall on him, but he survived and used the Force to lift the burning walker off him. The Rebels fled the scene in a stolen shuttle and instead of pursing them, he let them go. Vader then allowed the Rebels to escape through the blockade, letting them lead him to his true target; the Rebel fleet. Vader took his TIE Fighter to attack the Rebel fleet, destroying most of the fighters and severely damaging the command ship. During the fight, Vader sensed that his former apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, was alive and part of the Rebel fleet. When two Star Destroyers arrived, Vader tried to stop the Rebels from escaping, but lost them when they jumped into hyperspace and he got caught in the tractor beam. Following his victory, Vader contacted Palpatine and informed him that Skywalker's apprentice was still alive and in league with the Rebels. Both Vader and the emperor were pleased by this, knowing she could lead them to other Jedi survivors, even Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom Vader was still obsessed with seeking revenge upon for his defeat on Mustafar. Palpatine urged Vader to be patient when searching for his former master and then ordered him to send another Inquisitor to hunt the Rebels down. Vader later dispatched two new Inquisitors, the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister, to finish what he and the Grand Inquisitor had started. Many months later, Darth Vader arrived in the Lothal Jedi Temple and was impressed of The Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister's work. The Fifth Brother revealed that the Jedi are growing in their power, to which Vader calmly retorted; 'it will be their undoing'. Vader later arrived on Malachor on top of his TIE Advanced x1 and approached Ezra. He questioned the boy as to how did he open the path to the Malachor Sith Temple; Ezra told him to find out himself and engaged Vader in battle, but the Sith Lord was too strong and easily destroyed Ezra's lightsaber. But before he could finish the boy off, Ahsoka arrived and engaged Vader. He eventually managed to knock Ahsoka out of the Temple and attempted to stop Ezra and a blinded Kanan from escaping. A recovered Ahsoka charged up behind Vader and slashed half of his mask off, knocking him down to the floor and exposing a considerable amount of his disfigured face, including his yellow right eye. Seeing that he really was her former master, Ahsoka refused to leave him again. For a few moments, Ahsoka's compassion appeared to have reached Vader, but he then shrugged it off; coldly declaring that she would die, he ignited his lightsaber and moved to attack her again. As the pair resumed their battle, the temple collapsed and exploded around them, with Kanan and Ezra barely managing to escape. Vader survived the collapse and later limped away from the ruins (unaware that his former pupil had also survived). 'Video Games' ''Disney INFINITY 3.0 Darth Vader appears in ''Disney INFINITY's third installment as a playable character along with his original persona Anakin as a separate character. Attractions Darth Vader is featured in the show Jedi Training Academy at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. He was also meetable during Star Wars Weekends. As of now, he can be met at Star Wars: Launch Bay in both parks. He also appears in Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. Relationships Gallery Trivia *Darth Vader is one of the most iconic and popular Lucasfilm villains, with his popularity being comparable to that of the other Disney Villains. *Vader is briefly mentioned in the DuckTales episode "All Ducks on Deck", when the Phantom Blot is comparing himself to other villains: "I make Darth Vader look as scary as the hood ornament of a '53 Buick!" At the time the episode aired, Disney had not acquired the rights to Star Wars yet. *In Toy Story 2, there is a spoof of Vader's famous line (No, I'' am your father) when Emperor Zurg reveals himself to Buzz Lightyear. The same film also briefly had Buzz Lightyear mimicking Darth Vader's breathing in the beginning. In addition, Zurg, when encountering Buzz Lightyear in the beginning of the same film also paraphrases Darth Vader's line when about to duel Obi-Wan Kenobi from ''A New Hope. **In the sequel, Toy Story 3, Big Baby throws Lotso into the dumpster, similar to Vader's redemption by defeating Emperor Palpatine. **Vader's line to Leia when ordering for her arrest was also parodied with Bad Buzz in the same film. Coincidentally, both Bad Buzz and Darth Vader were seduced by the bad guy (Lotso and Palpatine, respectively), although in the former's case, it was closer to being brainwashed. *In Wreck-It Ralph, which was released in theaters only four days after Lucasfilm was bought by Disney, Ralph mimics Vader's breathing when he breathes through a candy straw while hiding out in a chocolate pond. *His voice actor, James Earl Jones, would later go on to voice Mufasa in The Lion King. Ironically, the shoe would be on the other foot in these roles: Specifically, Vader, later revealed to be Luke's father, had Luke's uncle Owen Lars murdered, while Mufasa, Simba's father, would end up murdered by Simba's uncle. When Mufasa is an ghost, his voice sounded very similar. *A scuba mask was used to make Darth Vader's infamous breathing noise. *In the extended version of Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion, Darth Vader's character design is close to the original concept that was used during the early production of A New Hope. *Anakin was originally going to appear in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a force ghost.http://screenrant.com/star-wars-7-anakin-skywalker-force-ghost-images-hayden-christensen/ *Darth Vader's burnt mask is in possession of his grandson Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens. 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